C h r y s a l i s (via Mowser)

July 24, 2008

Random Pinch of Salt: Bible Abbreviations

A Writer's Quick Reference

(When Your Bible Shorthand is Kinda’ Rusty)

This alphabetical list includes traditional abbreviations and commonly used shorter forms. Note that the shorter forms include no periods. An equals sign indicates alternative names for the same books. Source: The Chicago Manual of Style. Bookmark This

The Old Testament

Amos - Amos or Am
Chronicles - 1 Chron. or 1 Chr
2 Chronicles - 2 Chron. or 2 Chr
Daniel - Dan. or Dn
Deuteronomy - Deut. or Dt
Ecclesiastes - Eccles. or Eccl
Esther - Esther or Est
Exodus - Exod. or Ex
Ezekiel - Ezek. or Ez
Ezra - Ezra or Ezr
Genesis - Gen. or Gn
Habakkuk - Hab. or Hb
Haggai - Hag. or Hg
Hosea - Hosea or Hos
Isaiah - Isa. or Is
Jeremiah - Jer. or Jer
Job - Job or Jb
Joel - Joel or Jl
Jonah - Jon. or Jon
Joshua - Josh. or Jo
Judges - Judg. or Jgs
1 Kings - 1 Kings or 1 Kgs
2 Kings - 2 Kings or 2 Kgs
Lamentations - Lam. or Lam
Leviticus - Lev. or Lv
Malachi - Mal. or Mal
Micah - Mic. or Mi
Nahum - Nah. or Na
Nehemiah - Neh. or Neh
Numbers - Num. or Nm
Obadiah - Obad. or Ob
Proverbs - Prov. or Prv
Psalms - Ps. (pl.Pss.) or Ps (pl. Pss)
Ruth - Ruth or Ru
1 Samuel - 1 Sam. or 1 Sm
2 Samuel - 2 Sam. or 2 Sm
Song of Solomon (=Song of Songs) - Song of Sol. or Sg
Zechariah - Zech. or Zec
Zephaniah - Zeph. or Zep

The New Testament

Acts of the Apostles - Acts
Colossians - Col. or Col
Corinthians - 1 Cor. or 1 Cor
2 Corinthians - 2 Cor. or 2 Cor
Ephesians - Eph. or Eph
Galatians - Gal. or Gal
Hebrews - Heb. or Heb
James - James or Jas
John (Gospel) - John or Jn
1 John (Epistle) - 1 John or 1 Jn
2 John (Epistle) - 2 John or 2 Jn
3 John (Epistle) - 3 John or 3 Jn
Jude - Jude
Luke - Luke or Lk
Mark - Mark or Mk
Matthew - Matt. or Mt
1 Peter - 1 Pet. or 1 Pt
2 Peter - 2 Pet. or 2 Pt
Philemon - Philem. or Phlm
Philippians - Phil. or Phil
Revelation (=Apocalypse) - Rev. or Rv
Romans - Rom. or Rom
1 Thessalonians - 1 Thess. or 1 Thes
2 Thessalonians - 2 Thess. or 2 Thes
1 Timothy - 1 Tim. or 1 Tm
2 Timothy - 2 Tim. or 2 Tm
Titus - Titus or Ti

Related

1. Bible Abbreviations in the MLA Style.

2. Highly acclaimed, The Christian Writer’s Manual of Style can be previewed on Google Books.

Up Next—How the Bible Wound Up In English

What's your favorite writer's resource?

Photo: Doozzle (Flickr)

July 22, 2008

The Temple As a Theme in Scripture

Bible Study:

Images of God's Presence Among Men

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. (Rev 21:3 NIV)

God desired to walk with man in an intimate unbroken relationship from the very beginning. From Eden forward, Scripture trumpets God's redemptive plan to restore a vital union between the Creator and his creation.

Searching both the Old Testament and the New, I've discovered ten images where we can see the Spirit of God descending, indwelling, and remaining with man—first with his beloved Israel, and later with his Bride the Church. Akin to the completeness of sexual union, believers are promised deep relations with God through Christ now, plus an unending life of glory in the future.

Can You Connect the Dots?

• God's Presence in the Garden of Eden - Key Verses: Gen 2:8-10; Gen 3:8; Gen 3:24.

Themes include a beautiful garden planted in the east, God's Presence, man (Adam and Eve), fruit trees for food, the Tree of Life, the origin of a mighty river (probably on a mountain), cherubim.

• God's Presence on Mt. Sinai - Key Verse: Ex 24:16-18.

Dominant themes include a mountain, God's glory as an all-consuming fire, a cloud, a man (Moses).

• God's Presence in the Tabernacle - Key Verse: Exodus 40:34-35.

Themes are the sacred Tent of Meeting (Tabernacle), God's glory, a cloud, a man (Moses).

• God's Presence in the Temple in Jerusalem - Key Verse: 1 Kings 6:29-30.

Dominant themes are the sacred Temple building, beautiful decorations of palm trees and open flowers, floors of gold, and cherubim.

• God's Presence Departs from the Temple Before Destruction - Key Verse: Ezek 10:4-5.

Themes include the sacred Temple building, God's glory, a cloud, cherubim's wings that sound like God's voice.

• God's Presence in a Future Temple - Key Verses:
Ezek 41:17-18; Ezek 43:2; Ezek 47:1, 12.

Dominant themes are a sacred Temple building facing toward the east, beautiful carved palm trees and cherubim, God's glory, God's voice like the roar of rushing waters, a river of water, imperishable fruit trees for food and leaves for healing.

• God's Presence through Jesus Christ - Key Verse:
John 2:19-22.

Themes are Jesus' human body as the Temple, Jesus' Resurrection: the Temple is destroyed, the Temple is restored.

• God's Presence in each Christian Believer - Key Verses: 1 Cor 3:16-17; John 7:38-39.

Themes include believers' collective bodies as the Temple, believers' bodies are sacred, God will destroy those who destroy their body, the Spirit flows from believers like a river of living water.

• God's Presence at Jesus' Transfiguration - Key Verse: Matt 17:2-5.

Dominant themes include a mountain, Jesus' face and clothes shining with glory, men (Peter, James, and John), tabernacles, a bright cloud, God's voice affirming Jesus is his Son.

• God and the Lamb (Jesus) are Present in the New Jerusalem - Key Verses: Rev 21:2-3; Rev 21:22-23;
Rev 22:1-2.

Themes are the New Jerusalem is composed of Christian believers, the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the Temple, a loud voice, the glory of the Lord gives light to the city, a river of water flows from the throne of God and the Lamb, the Tree of Life bears fruit and has leaves for the healing of the nations.

Update: Join Amydeanne at The 160 Acre Woods for a rockin' Word-Filled Wednesday (WFW).

Up Next—Random Pinch of Salt: Bible Abbreviations

Based on these passages, can you describe the heavenly throne room of God?

Photos: Bob Fornal, rexb, heather, swisscan (Flickr)

July 20, 2008

Humor: 13 Sunday School Bible Bloopers

Noah's Wife Was Called Joan of Ark

Here are thirteen OT Bible bloopers from Sunday school students.

1. In the first book of the Bible, Guinessis the Lord got tired of creating the world, so he took the Sabbath off.

2. Adam & Eve were created from an apple tree.

3. Noah's wife was called Joan of Ark.

4. Lot's wife was a pillar of salt by day, but a ball of fire by night.

5. Sampson was a strongman who let himself be led astray by a jezebel like Delilah.

6. Sampson slayed the Philistines with the axe of apostles.

7. Moses led the Hebrews to the Red Sea, where they made unleavened bread, which is bread made without any ingredients.

8. Moses went up on Mount Cyanide to get the Ten Amendments.

9. The first commandment was when Eve told Adam to eat the apple.

10. The Fifth Commandment is humor thy mother and father.

11. Moses died before he ever reached the UK. Then Joshua led the Hebrews in the Battle of Geritol.

12. David was a Hebrew king skilled at playing the liar. He fought with the Finkelsteins, a race of people who lived in the biblical times.

13. Solomon, one of David's sons, has 300 wives and 700 porcupines.

HT to Crosswalk.com. Join the uber-friendly Thursday Thirteen crowd.

Related: The Startling Facts

"More than 10 percent of Americans believe that Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife. This is just one of the distressing statistics that Stephen Prothero, the chair of the religion department at Boston University, presents in his book Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know—and Doesn’t. He claims that although the United States is arguably the most religious nation in the developed world, it is also the most religiously ignorant.

How does your Biblical knowledge compare to that of your fellow Americans? Only half of those polled could name even one of the Four Gospels. A mere one in three knew who delivered the Sermon on the Mount. And less than half of those polled could identify the first book of the Bible. (We won’t insult you by printing the answers.)

Only half of those polled could name even one of the Four Gospels.

On the other hand, approximately 75 percent of adults believe that the Bible teaches that "God helps those who help themselves." (Benjamin Franklin said it.)" Quoted from "Ignorance of the Bible Isn't Bliss" published in Sept. 2007, by the Biblical Archaeology Society (BAS).

Cartoon Caption Contest

Cartoon Illustration: From the BAS's "Cartoon Caption Contest." Winning caption: "The unicorns say they're not coming!" Submit your caption to the current cartoon.

Up Next—Bible Study: The Temple as a Theme in Scripture

Your raves, rants, or reactions?

July 15, 2008

The Book of Enoch

Bible Canon Q & A

Q. I have hit a small difficulty in understanding a part of the Bible. Enoch is mentioned in Genesis 5:21-24, Hebrews 11:5, and Jude 14. It's the Jude reference that gets me.

I understand that Enoch lived 65 years, walked with God for 300 more years and then ceased (as in God took him up). What I don't understand is the reference in Jude when he talks about Enoch's Judgment Day revelation (in verse 14). In my Life Application Study Bible, the footnotes refer to a "Book of Enoch"... what's with that?

A. The Book of Enoch is a book written between the Old and New Testaments. Probable date of writing was between 150-80 B.C. Copies of the Book of Enoch have been found among the Dead Sea scrolls. If this date is accurate, obviously the Book of Enoch was not written by the real Enoch who lived before the flood.

Your question raises the whole issue of what books are inspired by God and what books are not. There are many other Jewish writings from this time period which are like the book of Enoch, such as the books of Maccabees, The Wisdom of Solomon, Judith, Tobit, etc. These books give supposed prophesies, visions, and history of the Jewish people between the Testaments. Protestants usually call these books the Apocrypha (Greek, apokruphos = "hidden") and do not consider them inspired writings...

However, it's not just Protestants that think the book of Enoch is suspect. The Roman Catholic Church doesn't consider the book inspired either. The Roman church does include books in their Bible that Protestants don't, but Enoch is not one of them. So this is not an issue that divides Roman Catholics and Protestants...

Jude's quotation of the book of Enoch does not mean that Jude considered it inspired... Jude simply uses a passage from the book of Enoch to prove his point about the coming judgment of wicked men.

Now back to Jude's quotation from the Book of Enoch. Jude's quotation of the book of Enoch does not mean that Jude considered it inspired. The book of Enoch was a well respected writing among some of the Jews in New Testament times. Even though it was not inspired, it contains some truth (and some falsehood - like angels marrying humans) like most books. Jude simply uses a passage from the book of Enoch to prove his point about the coming judgment of wicked men. It would be similar to me appealing to a book by some famous author: "Even Tim LaHaye in the Left Behind series talks about the judgment of wicked men when he says...".

Other New Testament quotations from, or allusions to, non-Biblical works include Paul's quotations of Aratus (Acts 17:28), Menander (1 Corinthians 15:33) and Epimenides (Titus 1:12). Such usage in no way suggest that the quotations, or the books from which they were taken, are divinely inspired. It only means that the Biblical author found the quotations to be helpful confirmation, clarification, or illustration.

This excerpt is a direct quote from the online resource, Frankly Answered Questions - FAQs.

Related

The Biblical Archaeology Society discusses the content of fragments of Enoch 1 which were found at Qumran among the Dead Sea Scrolls. For more on the Bible Canon, see "How Were the Books of the Bible Chosen?" by Chrysalis.

Take a moment to visit this week's Christian Carnival at Jennifer's great blog, Diary of 1.

Up Next—Humor: Bible Bloopers

Are you as certain of the coming judgment of God as Jude was?

Photo: zachstern (Flickr)

July 13, 2008

Bible Study: Jesus' Use of Q & A

Methods of the Master Teacher

Jesus was an extraordinary teacher. He used various instructional methods to impart his message to his disciples, his enemies, and the multitudes. All Christian Moms, Dads, and homeschool parents should pay attention to his effective techniques. One of Jesus' favorite techniques was the question and answer method.

Rhetorical Questions in Pairs

Jesus frequently asked rhetorical questions of his audience that were direct and penetrating. Often posed in pairs, Jesus' queries were designed to make his listeners think deeply about human problems. For instance, speaking to his disciples Jesus asks, " What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matt 16:26).

Questions Designed to Startle

Sometimes Jesus' questions were quite startling. For instance, after offering forgiveness to a paralytic, Jesus asserts his authority to the teachers of the law who were present by asking, "Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk?' (Matt 9:5). Afterward, Jesus commanded the paralytic to stand, and the man picked up his mat and went home.

Questions to Ellicit a Response

Jesus' questions always required his listeners to make a choice, especially when they concerned himself. For instance, when he was with his disciples on the way to Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asks, "Who do you say that I am?... But what about you? Who do you say that I am?" Peter's bold answer, "You are the Christ: was a pivotal moment, and set the stage for the final and culminating phase of Jesus' ministry: the Cross (Mar 8:27, 29).

Questions Answered With a Question

Jesus frequently engaged in open discussion with his disciples, and he often answered their questions with questions of his own. For example, when Philip asks Jesus to show him the Father, Jesus replied, "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? ...Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?" (John 14: 8-10).

Summary

In short, Jesus employed numerous teaching methods during his public ministry. One of his favorite and most effective modes of instruction was the question and answer method. As parents, we would do well to imitate Jesus' effective teaching techniques during our interactions with our children.

I'm indebted to Jesus the Messiah by Robert H. Stein for this material. A more thorough in-depth look at Jesus' methods of instruction can be found in Stein's book,
The Method and Message of Jesus' Teachings.

Up Next—Bible Study: The Book of Enoch

Do you use a careful line of questioning during important conversations?

Photos: amanky & ccsdteacher (Flickr)

July 11, 2008

Saturday Photo Hunting

The Beauty of Scripture

My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word. (Ps 119:28 NIV)

I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread. (Job 23:12 NIV)

The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. (Psalm 19:8 NIV)

Saturday PhotoHunt

If you would like to join tnhick.com's Saturday PhotoHunt, the official rules are here. This week's theme is "support."

How often are you in the Word?

Photo: rubberpaw (Flickr)

July 09, 2008

Bible Study: Matt 5:3-11

The Beatitudes in Two Views

Elementary HistoryTeacher at Got Bible? is one of my favorite bloggers. She posts many pieces on Biblical archaeology, the Holy Land and of course, Scripture itself. I've copied the following piece from one of her April posts.

1. Jesus: Blessed are the poor in spirit, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
The World: Blessed are the rich and famous, for they will be recognized as important people.

2. Jesus: Blessed are those who mourn, because they will be comforted.
The World: Blessed are people who party, for they will enjoy life to the fullest.

3. Jesus: Blessed are the gentle, because they will inherit the earth.
The World: Blessed are the aggressive, for they will inherit the earth.

4. Jesus: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, because they will be filled.
The World: Blessed are people who do their own thing, for they will find personal fulfillment.

5. Jesus: Blessed are the merciful, because they will be shown mercy.
The World: Blessed are those who take care of number one, for they don't need to worry about anyone else.

6. Jesus: Blessed are the pure in heart, because they will
see God.
The World: Blessed are the wheelers and dealers, for they are winners in this dog-eat-dog world.

7. Jesus: Blessed are the peacemakers, because they will be called sons of God.
The World: Blessed are those who do not get involved in other people's problems, for they will not get caught in the middle.

8. Jesus: Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
The World: Blessed are those who don't rock the boat, for everyone will like them.

Bonus: Wedding Photos on YouTube

Our sweet pro photographer, Gabi Wright at Red Bird Photography created a fast-paced slideshow of some of the best pics from our daughter's Oahu wedding.
Please enjoy.

Up Next: More Bible Study. (All July!)

Which one of the beatitudes do you find the most challenging?

Photo: rocket ship (Flickr)